in those things that he sells. People say Graham's a philistine, he's interested only in making money, but if he were interested solely in making money he'd be in the stock market or in real estate. I think he has a genuine love of the objects he deals in." When I told Watson about Michael Zinman's copy of the Champlain map, he smiled, and said, "It reminds me of that line from 'The Maltese Falcon,' where Sydney Greenstreet says, 'Well, Wilmer, I'm sorry indeed to lose you. I want you to know I couldn't be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son it's possible to get another.' " Dave Davis, a psychiatrist and col- lector in Atlanta-overstating the case somewhat, perhaps, for colorful effect -said not long ago, "Graham Arader is probably the most successful map dealer in the history of the world, and I personally know every major map dealer in the world. He is the stan- dard-bearer of the industry. His com- petitors do not love him, because he's like the doctor who ad vertises. His ego is exciting and stimulating, but it's not relaxing. Being with him for any extended length of time is like being stranded in Six Flags. I like Gra- ham, you understand, but I would rather have three gears, my- self. " Self-promote Arader does. Each month, the inside back cover of The Magazine An- tiques carries a sump- tuous-looking spread in which readers are informed that the firm of W Graham Arader III is "building Amer- ica's major corporate art collections and counts 100 of the For- tune 500 companies as satisfied clients." A couple of years ago, Arader ran full-page ads in a number of publications devoted to antiques which dem- onstrated his lack of confidence in the light touch. "W. Graham Arader III Is Search- ing" said the overline. The text began, "Cap- i talize on the de- cade's strongest col- lecting trend and dis- pose of old family maps, prints and books discreetly. America's leading print dealer, W. Graham Arader III, is seeking important inventory materials for which he win pay excellent dollar value. Arader, who has paced the booming prints market for a decade, is the country's acknowledged authority in the field. Let him help you turn print materials into liquid assets. Your entire collection or a single piece can become an excellent investment profit." And so forth. "Graham is not friendly to his com- petitors," says Henry Taliaferro, the resident expert in the map department of Arader's New York gallery, on up- per Madison Avenue. (Arader also has galleries in Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Houston, and his staff includes specialists in rare books, autographs, paintings, and twentieth -century prints.) "He sees his competitors as adversaries. He inspires them to jealousy. He's successful. He has the finest stock. He goes to auc- tions and consistently outbids them. And Graham doesn't do what he could to assuage them when he wins." Arader is now thirty-seven years old. He has a high, flat forehead, a strong jaw, a small mouth, broad "1 " ,,\ "-t J. .. . S; ''' .. r ' · "' t _. 1 .... ............ ' 45 cheeks, brown eyes, and thinning brown hair. He has a barking laugh, a voice that can blast through walls, and an ability to invade another fellow's personal space from several feet away. He is six feet two inches tall, well past two hundred pounds, and somehow nimble. He walks on the balls of his feet, arms sWInging-more the swift linebacker than the defensive tackle. On a typical workday, he wears chi- nos, a polo shirt, a V -neck sweater, and scuffed brown leather running- around shoes. For Arader, dressing up means putting on a uniform that does not vary: gray suit, white shirt, red club tie, wing tips. Sometimes he re- members to brush his hair and some- times he forgets. In circumstances where a high premium is placed on civility, he radiates the aura of a con- genitally disobedient child who must strain every drop of protoplasm to be- have properly. His dominating pres- ence in the world of rare maps, prints, and books suggests what the Metro- politan Museum of Art, say, might be like if George M. Steinbrenner III were placed in charge. Clarence Wolf, a Philadelphia seller of rare books, who regards Arader as a former friend-he has yet \: , ;1 l J .. t ':f 'Ad ,t T . "N.". .:: .. . I -- . t, i }. " "V " \ -- .. .". :. 4 1 1 - ': j . .:- .......- r. . f 1\'- '" g l 1 If n i .. t 1r .. < , "':) .... f/I C' """..:; -- /, .., "*' , 1 ;'.} . t > \ f . J'# ø ""... , ., ,., , "\ j I - <" : 1 I --.. ,.t I - .- J 4",.. f v ( - ,- '- , Ù í Ø< :. ...... ',- ) ,:" '" <' I " -... ..; h"" --' \, " . ; ,, , , & ., . ''Þ, <","-ò(, 't, "Mrs. Gilray says women aren't gozng to take it anymore. Pass zt on."